Grain stripping mechanism



C. S. GRAY April 3, 1951 GRAIN STRIPFING MECHA NIQSM Filed Aug. 25, 19482 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. CHARLES S. GRAY BY diam A TTOENEY A ril 3,1951 c. s. GRAY GRAIN STRIPPING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 25, 1948 2Sheets-Sheet 2 R.Y 0 Z we s m M m Nb mm A TTOE VEY Patented Apr. 3, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GRAIN STRIPPING MECHANISM Charles S.Gray, New York, N. Y., assignor of onehalf to Nicholas H. Jacovatos, NewYork, N. Y.

Application August 25, 1948, Serial No. 46,127

13 Claims.

-This invention relates to harvesters, i. e., to

machines which are designed to reap the fruits of plants. Typical of thetypes of plants which harvesters embodying my invention are designed toreap are wheat, barley, oats, rice and soy beans.

Present-day harvesters are provided with mechanisms for cutting thestems or stalks of plants, for thrashing the cut plants to free thefruits (hereinafter for convenience simply referred to as grain), andfor handling the straw ,(the stems or stalks).

It is an object of my invention to provide a harvester which in itsoperation strips the grain [from standing plants and thus eliminates thecutting mechanisms, e. g., cutter bars, and also the straw handlingmechanisms such as straw walkers and straw Spreaders.

It is another object of my invention to provide a harvester which, instripping grain from standin plants, removes a comparatively smallquantity of extraneous plant material so that the thrashing mechanismhas considerably less bulk to handle than heretofore.

It is a further object of my invention to pro- :vide a harvester which,in stripping grain from standing plants, obtains a large proportion ofthe grain in a free state so that the work of the thrashing mechanism isfurther reduced. 1' It is an ancillary object of my invention to providea harvester of the character described in which the free grain isseparated from the stripped material prior to thrashing.

- t is an additional object of my invention to provide a harvester whichcan reap grain from .high and low plants, and even from plants which{have been downed as by sleet, hail, or high winds and lietangled on theground.

It is yet another object of my invention to provide a harvester of thecharacter described embodying novel and simple mechanisms whichLenable-the harvester to carry out its desired func- ,;'tions ina rapidand uncomplicated manner.

It is still another object of my invention'to provide harvester of thecharacter described having a rugged and com-pact construction and whichcan be manufactured at a relatively low cost. 1

Other objects of my invention will in part be obvious and in part willbe pointed out herein tftel'.

. Myinvention accordingly consists in the featuresof construction,combinations of elements ,iand arrangements of parts which will beexemplifled in the constructions hereinafter described,

and of which the scope of application will be i ndicat ed in theappended claims.

,stantially alongthe line 4'4 of Fig; 3

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 ofFig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a'developed view of a cam forming part of the reapingmechanism;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a harvester embodying a modifiedform of my invention; and

Fig. 8 is 'a'sectional view taken substantially along the line 8-8 ofFig. 7. As indicated above, a phase of my invention deals withthe'remo'val; in a novel fashion, of grain from standing plants. Thisphase of my invention can be embodied in a harvester which -performs astripping-function only, and collects processing.

the stripped material and stores it for further However, a substantialadvantage of the invention is not availed of unless the barvester alsoincludes the free-grain-separating mechanism immediately to remove thefree grain from the remainder of the stripped material and thus achievean initial and immediate separation which simplifies the subsequentoperations. The harvester additionally may include such mechanisms as athrashing cylinder and a recleaning screen, so that the entire unitconstitutes a combine which performs all necessary operations to achievean optimum recovery of the grain. In general, the stripping operation isperformed by a plurality of pairs of fingers mounted to turn about ahorizontal axis in such a direction that when the fingers are forward ofthe axis they move in an upward direction. To simplify construction andmaintain a high efficiency of operation, the fingers may be arranged inone or more rows extending along said axis, a plurality,

e. g., four or more, of such rows preferably being used. In order toenable the stripper to be employed on plants of various types anddifferent degrees of growth, one of each pair of fingers desirably isadjustable in a direction towards and awayfrom the other. Moreover, sothat the fingers may be able to engage a large number of stalks at eachstripping operation, and yet be able to strip the grain and ensureclearing of the fingers, the other finger of each pair is arranged to bemovable towards and away from its associated finger and is controlled bya mechanism which thus moves the finger in a proper cycle. In addition,when the pairs of fingers are arranged in rows, the stripper includesteeth or similar devices to guide the plants into the spaces between thepairs of open fingers.

The free-grain-separating mechanism basically comprises a separatingelement such as a screen onto which the stripped material is thrown bythe stripping fingers. Preferably, the screen has cooperating therewitha traversing mechanism, such as an open type conveyor, for ensuringpassage of the stripped material across the screen without blocking thescreen so that all the free grain maybe given an opportunity to fallthrough the screen. Another suitable mechanism, such as another opentype conveyor, may be provided beneath the screen to lead the screenedgrain away for further operations forming no part of the presentinvention.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs.1-6, the reference numeral l denotes the fore portion of a harvesterincluding a winged finger grain stripper I2 and a free grain cleaner orseparator 14 embodying my invention.

The harvester has a frame comprising a pair of forwardly extendingplates l6, l8 carried in a conventional manner by a vehicle chassis (notshown) which forms part of a combine including a thrashing cylinder anda recleaning screen of ordinary construction. Preferably, the plates l6,18 are connected to the vehicle chassis by a standardoperator-controlled height adjusting mechanism so that the elevation ofthe plates may be varied by swinging the same in the direction of thedouble-headed arrow A.

A pair of bearings 20, 20 mounted on the plates 16, I8 rotatably supporta horizontal shaft 22.

Said shaft has a sprocket 24 fixed thereto and engaging a chain 25 whichis driven by a suitable source of rotary power, e. g., an engine mountedon the vehicle chassis. The chain is driven in such direction that theshaft 22 turns clockwise as viewed in Fig. l. Suitably secured to theshaft,

as by welding, are four radially extending arms 28, 30, 32, 34 whichspan almost the entire distance between the frame plates [6, l8. Saidarms serve as supports for wings 36, 38, 45, 42

integrally attached to the outer edges of the arms. In accordance with afeature of my invention, these wings are arranged at an angle to thearms, being inclined in a direction, as shown to lead the arms. Thefunction of such inclination will be pointed out later herein.

The forward edge of each wing has formed" therein a series of deepnotches 44, hereinafter referred to as throats, which divide said edgeinto a plurality of parallel teeth 46. Said teeth are of identicalconfiguration. A typical tooth (see Fig. 4) has one edge 48 runningperpendicularly to the shaft 22 from the base of the throat outward forthe greater part of the length of the tooth. The outermost portion 50 ofsaid edge is inclined towards the opposite edge 52 of the tooth so thatthe tip of the tooth is tapered. Said opposite edge 52 diverges from theadjacent edge of the next tooth whereby each throat is of flaringconfiguration and includes one perpendicular and one diverging side. Theteeth in the successive wings are staggered, i. e., offset transverselyso that all the plants will be stripped.

An adjusting plate 54 is shiftably secured to each tooth adjacent theedge 48 in a manner such that it can be moved in a direction normal tosaid edge from a position in which it is in registry with said edge to aposition in which it projects into the throat 44. A satisfactorymounting of this nature comprises a pair of bolts 56 whose shanks passthrough slots 58 in the adjusting plates and underlying holes 60 in theteeth.

Associated with each tooth is a moving finger 62 which is arranged to beshiftable towards and away from a stationary adjusting plate 54. To thisend, the finger 62 is pivoted on a stud 64 secured to the wing in backof the adjacent throat. The stud is so located that the moving fingercan be swung from a closed position (illustrated by the full lines inFig. 4) in which it is perpendicular to the shaft 22 and, therefore,parallel to the cooperating edge of the stationary adjusting plate, toan open position (illustrated by the dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 4) inwhich it is in registry with or behind the diverging edge 52 of theunderlying tooth. The moving finger 62 and stationary adjusting plate orfinger 54 are coplanar and are located on the leading surface of theteeth in the direction of rotation.

Means is provided to move the fingers 62 between the limits mentioned.Said means comprises a bar 66 on each wing parallel to the shaft 22. Thebar is pivotally connected by pins 68 to each finger on the wing so thatthe fingers will move in unison. A helical tension spring 10 attached atone end to the bar and at its other end to the wing urges the bar in adirection to open the moving fingers, i. e., to urge the moving fingersaway from the stationary fingers.

An end 12 of the bar projects beyond a side of the wing where it isformed into a yoke which supports an axle 14 on which a roller 16 turns,said axle being so oriented that the roller is adapted to roll along apath concentric with the shaft 22. The roller rides on a ring cam 18journalled on the frame plate l6 concentrically of the shaft 22. The camis held in any desired adjustable angular position by a bolt passingthrough a hole in the frame plate and an arouate slot in the cam.

The annular cam surface consists of four sectors, to wit: a high sector84 of uniform elevation, a following sector 86 having a series of peaks88 and troughs 90, a following high sector 92 of uniform elevation, anda following low sector 94 of uniform elevation. The high sectors 84, 92and the peaks 88 are of a common elevation such that when the rollerrides thereon it will force the moving fingers to their closed position.When the roller is at the elevation of the troughs and low sector thefingers are in open position, being urged thereto by the springs 10. Thesectors are so mutually angularly arranged that as the fingers move upalong the stalks or stems of the plants the fingers are open, as thefingers move along the grain bearing portions of the plants the fingersare closed, as the fingers travel to the rear of the shaft 22 thefingers rapidly open and close, and as the fingers move downwardly froma horizontal rearwardly extending position the fingers are closed untilthe last point of discharge from the stripping fingers is passed.

Baffle plates 94 are provided to close off the space between the basesof the teeth on each separator I4.

grain bearing portions.

stalks into the throats 44 which, becauseof their wing and the base ofthe preceding wing whereby each pair of wings and the intermediatebaffle plate form a compartment 96. The sides of the compartments areclosed off by walls 98, I00.

to the frame plates 16, I8 and runs into the curved front section I 3 ofan'upwardly inclined base plate I06 forming part of the free-grain- Saidseparator also includes a screen I08 constituting an extension of thebase plate I06. Mounted to ride across the screen in a rearwarddirection are a series of transverse parallel spaced slats IIO whoseopposite ends are secured to parallel chains II2, IIfl. These chains aretrained around sprockets II 6, H8 fixed to horizontal shafts I26, I22.One of the shafts,

e. g.,--the shaft I20, is driven by a sprocket IZt and chain I26 from asuitable source of power in a direction such that the lower flight oftheslats moves-rearwardly over the screen I08.

Beneath said screen is another slat conveyor I28 of the same generalconstruction as the open type conveyor above the screen. The secondconveyor has its lower flight riding on an upwardly inclined, rearwardlyextending bottom wall I 30 whose forward edge is jointed to the baseplate I06.

- The rear edge of the screen is connected to a "discharge plate I32-leading to a thrashing cylinder "(not shown), and the rear edge of thebottom wall I30 is connected to a free grain discharge plate I34 leadingto a recleaning screen (not shown).

In the operation of the harvester I0, the adjustable fingers are set inaccordance with the type of growth and size of kernel to be stripped sothat when the closed fingers are combed same. The height of the frameplates is regudated so that the stripping fingers will operate in thegrain bearing portions of the plants. A

screen IE8 is used having openings of the proper dimensions to pass thesize of grain being harvested.

As the harvester is moved through a field with all its shafts turning,each row of stripping fingers will open at position a and remain open toposition b. During this period ab, the fingers are moving into thestanding stalks beneath the The teeth 28 divert the flaring shape, fillreadily. At b the'cam Iitcloses the fingers and holds them closed toposition 0.

From b to c the closed fingers move through the grain bearing portionsand strip the grain therefrom. A large percentage of the grain isstripped free at such time. In addition, some other extraneous material,e. 'g., foliage, also is stripped from the plant, some ofit carryinggrain. The

"free grain drops upon the baffle plate '94. and is prevented fromfalling out to the side of the :wings by the walls 98, I00.

From 0 to cl the cam and spring 'Iilelose and open the stripping fingersrapidly. As the fingers first-open, the material hel d fas't between"the fingers is released and thrown by "centrifugal fingers preventingany drop of free grain onto the ground ahead of the apron.

It thus will be apparent that the baffle plates regulate the dischargeof free grain to'the proper point in the rotation of the fingers andthat they are assisted in this action by the inclination of the wings.Such inclination, moreover, is of particular importance in enabling thefingers to reach their best stripping position (horizontal) at a levelwell below the shaft 22 whereby the harvester can function efficientlyon low growing plants. When operating on downed plants, the frame islowered to let the wing teeth engage the plants on the ground.Thereafter, the stripping fingers operate in the manner alreadydescribed.

The foregoing timing, with the changeover points a, b, c and 11 locatedas shown, will obtain highly satsfactory results. However, for optimumperformance, these points may have to be shifted somewhat to change thetiming of the stripping finger cycle. Such adjustment is performed byloosening the bolt 80, shifting the cam I8, and retightening said bolt.It also will be understood that cams with other timings can besubstituted. I

Free grain thrown onto the slats H9 will fall through the space betweensaid slats onto the screen I08 throughwhich it will drop onto the lowerconveyor I 28. The other stripped material, as well as the free grainfalling on the apron i 32 will be carried over the screen by the slatsIlil. Thus, all free grain is separated immediately following strippingand only a comparatively small bulk of material is led from thedischarge of the first slat conveyor to the thrashing cylinder. Thismaterial, it will be observed, contains neither free grain nor straw,although some grain still is attached.

The free grain falling through the screen is discharged to therecleaning screen by the second or lower conveyor I28.

The modified form of harvester S it shown Figs. 7 and 8 is identicalwith the harvester if],

insofar as the stripping mechanism is concerned and, accordingly, thesame numerals primed have been used in the drawings to denote similarparts. .However, instead of being mounted on a shaft, the arms 28', 36],32', 35' are mounted to i turn with'the side walls 98, E09 onahorizontalcarried by each arm. Theforward edge of each wing has formed therein aseries of deep notches or throats 44' which divide said edge into aplurality of parallel teeth 46'. An adjusting plate Associated with eachtooth To this end each finger 62" is shiftably secured to each toothadjacent one edge thereof. l6 is a moving finger 62' which is arrangedto be shiftable toward and away from a stationary adjusting plate 54'.

7 is pivoted on astud 64' secured to the wing in back of the adjacentthroat. A bar 65 connects all the moving fingers 62' for joint movement.A tension spring l biases said bar in a direction to urge the movingfingers away from the stationary plates. Mounted on the bar is a rollerI6 which rides on a stationary ring cam 18' as the arms revolve wherebyto cause the movable fingers to oscillate toward and away from theplates 54', the timing being the same as for the cam 18.

The drum is formed with a longitudinal. opening I48 in its upper halfthrough which all stripped material, including free grain, falls.

The drum extends beyond the wall fill), and optionally beyond the frameplate it, where it leads into a chute I50. The stripped material isconveyed through the drum to the chute by a feed auger I52 rotatable inthe drum. Said auger is turned by a chain EM and sprocket 55.

The chute I50 discharges into a free-grain-separator I56 generallysimilar to the separator Hi. The separator E58 includes a rearwardlyinclined steep open-type slat conveyor whose lower flight rides on ascreen 32. A similar conveyor I64 is disposed beneath the screen. Bothconveyor and the screen operate in a fashion identical to that alreadydescribed with respect to the similar parts of the harvester i0.

Inasmuch as the free-grain-separator l56 is to the side of the strippingmechanism, it need not be made as wide as the separator M. Moreover, bylocating the separator on the side of the harvester, the strippingmechanism can be brought closer to the ground, which makes the harvesterlll more suitable for reaping such low crops as soy beans.

To prevent stripped material from being thrown rearwardly by centrifugalforce, I employ a deflecting means in conjunction with the harvesterI40. Such means may comprise a plurality of vanes I66 mounted to beturned about a horizontal axis by a chain I68 and arranged to extendinto the spaces between the rows of fingers. The rotation of said vanesis synchronized with that of the stripping fingers.

It thus will be seen that I have provided harvesters which achieve theseveral objects of my invention and are well adapted to meet theconditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention,and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth,it is to be understood that all matter herein described, or shown in theaccompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. A harvester comprising a stripping mechanism adapted to be carried bya vehicle through a field of standing plants at the level of the grainbearing portions, said mechanism including a row of spaced teeth mountedto turn about a horizontal axis, a finger associated with each tooth,means to adjust the setting of each finger with respect to the spacebetween its associated tooth and the next adjacent tooth, a secondfinger associated with each tooth and coplanar with the first namedfinger, means to move said fingers towards and away from each other, andmeans to turn said teeth and fingers together about said axis in such adirection that when the fingers are in front of said axis they moveupwardly; whereby the grain is stripped from the "'8 standing plants,said finger moving means being timed to bring said fingers closetogether when they are moving upwardly.

2. A harvester as set forth in claim 1 wherein the finger moving meansincludes a cam.

3. A harvester as set forth in claim 1 wherein the finger moving meansincludes a cam to move the fingers together and a spring to move thefingers apart.

4. A harvester as set forth in claim 1 wherein the finger moving meansrapidly open and close the fingers as they start to move downwardly.

5. A harvester as set forth in claim 1 wherein the fingers are inclinedin the direction of rotation and are offset from the axis of rotation.

6. A harvester comprising a stripping mechanism adapted to be carried bya vehicle through a field of standing plants at the level of the grainbearing portions, said mechanism including a plurality of arms extendingradially away from a common horizontal axis, means to turn said armsabout said axis in such a direction that when the arms are in front ofsaid axis they move upwardly, wings carried by said arms, said wingsbeing inclined in the direction of rotation and having outwardlydiverging deep notches in their forward edges which divide said edgesinto teeth, means to adjustably mount one set of fingers on said teethso that an edge of each such finger is adjacent one edge of each notchand can be set into said notch, a second set of fingers, one associatedand coplanar with each finger of the first set. means to pivotally mountthe fingers of the second set on said wings for movement into and out ofsaid notches and towards and away from the first fingers, a bar on eachwing, each bar being pivotally attached to the fingers of the second seton its wing, springs to move the bars in a direction to urge the fingersof the second set away from the fingers of the first set, a camconcentric with the horizontal axis of rotation, and followers carriedby said bars and riding on said cam to move said second set of fingerstowards the fingers of the first set, said cam having a portion topermit the springs to open the fingers as they approach a horizontalposition forward of said axis, a following portion thereafter to closethe fingers and hold them closed until they reach a position above saidaxis, and a following portion thereafter to causesaid fingers to openand close rapidly.

'7. A harvester as set forth in claim 6 wherein walls are provided tothe outside of the sidemost fingers.

8. A harvester as set forth in claim 6 wherein baffle plates extend fromadjacent the roots of each set of teeth to adjacent the roots of the setof preceding teeth.

9. A harvester as set forth in claim 6 wherein the arms turn about ahollow drum coincident with the axis of rotation and wherein a rotatingfeed auger is disposed inside the drum, said drum having a lengthwiseopening in its upper half running the span of the rows of teeth.

10-. A harvester comprising a stripping mechanism adapted to be carriedby a vehicle through a field of standing plants at the level of thegrain bearing portions, said mechanism including a plurality of pairs offingers mounted to turn about a horizontal axis, means to turn saidfingers about said axis in such a direction that when the fingers are infront of said axis they move upwardly, whereby the grain is strippedfrom the standing plants, and means to move the fingers of each pairtowards and away from.

each other in predetermined timed relationship as said fingers turnabout the horizontal axis.

11. A harvester comprising a mechanism adapted to be carried by avehicle through a field of standing plants at the level of the grainbearing portions, said mechanism including a plurality of pairs offingers mounted to turn about a horizontal axis, means to turn saidfingers about said axis in such a direction that when the fingers are infront of said axis they move upwardly, and means to move the fingers ofeach pair towards and away from each other in predetermined timerelationship as said fingers turn about the horizontal axis.

12. In a harvester including a vehicle: a plurality of pairs of fingers,means to mount said fingers on said vehicle so as to move therewith,said fingers being on the front of said vehicle, means to move saidfingers relative to said vehicle through a closed path including aportion in which the fingers move upwardly while they extend from thefront of the vehicle, and means to move the fingers of each pair towardand away from each other in predetermined timed relationship such thatthe fingers are moved together when they are moving upwardly.

13. A harvester comprising a stripping mechanism adapted to be carriedby a vehicle through a field of standing plants at the level of thegrain bearing portions, and a free-grain-separating mechanism on whichthe plant material stripped by the first-named mechanism is deposited,said last-named means including a screen on which the stripped plantmaterial is deposited and an imperforate surface beneath the screen,said stripping mechanism including a row of spaced teeth mounted to turnabout a horizontal axis, a finger associated with each tooth, means toadjust the setting of each finger with respect to the space between itsassociated tooth and the next adjacent tooth, a second finger associatedwith each tooth and coplanar with the first-named finger, means to movesaid fingers toward and away from each other, and means to turn saidteeth and fingers together about said axis in such a direction that whenthe fingers are in front of said axis they move upwardly, whereby thegrain is stripped from the standing plants, said finger moving meansbeing timed to bring said fingers close together when they are movingupwardly.

CHARLES S. GRAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,368,014 Bauert Feb. 8, 19211,449,869 Novak Mar. 27, 1923 1,596,634 Smith Aug. 1'7, 1926 1,638,867Melton Aug. 16, 1927 2,231,354 Wilcox Feb. 11, 1941 2,248,066 Cory July8, 1941

